"Here, this is the investigation report on the Reiss territory that Erwin gave me." Inside the carriage, Hange took a report from inside her coat and handed it to Arthur.
Arthur took the report and began reading, while Mikasa leaned over to see what it said.
The two quickly skimmed through it.
The investigation report briefly described a strange incident five years ago, on the day Wall Maria was breached. Lord Reiss had five children. His eldest daughter, Frieda, was an outspoken girl who was deeply loved by the people. But tragedy struck one night five years ago, when bandits took advantage of the chaos to attack the village's only chapel.
That night, the entire Reiss family had been praying in the chapel, and everyone except the head of the family, Lord Reiss, had been brutally murdered by the bandits.
It had also happened very close to the time Historia's mother was killed. In other words, Reiss had contacted Historia immediately after that incident.
"This is too strange." Arthur could not help frowning as he read the report.
"What is it, Arthur?" Mikasa was puzzled. She had not noticed anything wrong.
"Everyone except Reiss died. Would bandits really leave a survivor? After committing murder, surely they'd want to kill every last witness," Arthur voiced his doubts.
"Maybe the guy was just a fast runner and got lucky enough to escape?" Connie said without thinking.
"I don't think that's what happened." Armin, too, had keenly sensed something was wrong.
"Yes, it's definitely suspicious. Besides, the chapel was built of brick and stone. If those bandits only wanted money, why destroy it? Demolishing it would have taken a considerable amount of time and manpower." Hange nodded and raised her own question.
"Later, he paid to rebuild the chapel. There's something very wrong